Christopher St John Sprigg (1907-1937), who wrote under the name of Christopher Caudwell, died fighting in the Spanish civil war. Although he earned his living as writer, his marxist theoretical works, written in his last years, only came to light after his death. They were original and brilliant studies of culture, science, politics, indeed the whole intellectual landscape of his time. This paper attempts to assess his intellectual legacy both in terms of his own times and ours.